With thanks to all our charity sponsors - 
Mukuni Basic School
Since The Butterfly Tree’s involvement at Mukuni Basic School a great deal of development has taken place. After a successful project funded by The Butterfly Tree the completion of a three bay classroom, with storage rooms and an office, has been achieved making it the first rural high school in Kasungula district. Since then a further three bay classroom has been added as well as classrooms for pre-school and special education children.
Three bay classroom funded by The Butterfly Tree – opened in 2010
Our achievements with Mukuni Basic School so far
- Funding of the building and equiping of a new high school classroom
- Completion of five teachers’ houses
- Bore hole and Playpump for the school
- Daily nutritional feeding program for 350 ‘needy’ children
- Sponsorship of over 500 orphans in education
- Provided large quantities of stationary, books and sports equipment
- 13 toilets for the pupils and 4 for the teachers
- Supplying sports equipment & funds for sports days
- Providing vast amounts of clothing for the vulnerable children
- Totally funding of a pre-school classroom, equipment for 250 children, supporting two teachers and a classroom helper
- Addition of a Special Education Class in 2010 for children with both mental and physical difficulties
- Houses for the 11 high school teachers and their families
- Part funding of a science laboratory for the high school
- A 3 bay-classroom was opened in 2010 for grades 8-9
- Classroom for Special Education 2010
- Teacher exchange program for special education
- Borders’ shelters
Grades 8 pupils – Mukuni Basic School
New projects scheduled for 2012
- Music Centre
History of Mukuni Basic School
Founded in 1912 by the Church of Christ, The Mukuni Basic School was established to educate children between grades one and four. Two classrooms and a teacher’s house were built at the entrance to the village. It took fifty-four years before the Catholic Church in 1966 made an addition to the school by building two more classrooms for grades five to seven and three teacher’s houses. By 1974 the Zambian government contributed by building two more classrooms and two further teacher’s houses. It was almost thirty years before further development to the school was made. Between 2001 and 2003 the Basic Sub Sector Investment Program added a 3 bay classroom block and a teacher’s house was built through a twinning program with a school in Norway. A school tuck shop was also added.Founded in 1912 by the Church of Christ, The Mukuni Basic School was established to educate children between grades one and four. Two classrooms and a teacher’s house were built at the entrance to the village.
Presley Mulenga, Head Teacher
Aged 54 Presley comes from Eastern Province of Zambia and completed school in 1979 with a Cambridge certificate. In 1984- 85 he enrolled at Chipata Teachers’ College to study teaching as a profession. His first appointment was at Mambova Primary School in the southern province in 1986. In the same area in 1993 Presley was promoted to Deputy Head Teacher at Katombora Basic School. During this time he took a diploma in education, five years later he became Head Teacher at the same school. In 2002 Presley was sent to Mukuni Basic School as their Head Teacher with his wife Sylvia Muwowo and their five children. In 2010 Presley became a Reverend. He is driving force behind this successful school and since The Butterfly Trees’ involvement Mukuni Basic School has progressed considerably in the past six years. Jane and Presley work closely together on all the projects to achieve better working conditions for both pupils and teachers, improved quality education and advanced facilities.
Photo: Presley with his wife Sylvia, who is Head Teacher at Kamwi Basic School
Since The Butterfly Trees’ involvement Mukuni Basic School it has progressed considerably in the past six years and Jane and Presley work closely together on all the projects to achieve better working conditions for both the pupils and teachers, improved quality and education and advanced facilities.
There are now over 50 teachers in all sectors of the school, which includes:
- 250 pre-school children
- 1000 pupils from grades 1-9 in the basic school
- 200 in the high school, which opened in 2007
- 15 special education children
Latest Happenings WITH OUR Mukuni Basic School Project
Mukuni Village Education
Overcoming the hardships through education
The improvements in education made by The Butterfly Tree over the past two years at Mukuni Village is having a positive effect on the community.
With the addition of Mukuni high school, now in it’s second year, pupils are able to complete grades ten to twelve of their education with a far better prospect of finding employment and with the boom in the Zambian tourist industry more positions will be available to school leavers.
Photo: Pupils have made these bricks for the high school science laboratory
The addition of Mukuni pre-school totally funded by The Butterfly Tree now has 198 children attending three classes throughout the day. With very little entertainment in these remote villages young children can learn to read and write and speak English at a much earlier age.
Having spent some time visiting a number of classes the standard of teaching is excellent. What is needed is funding to improve teaching facilities and purchase more materials. I was amazed to learn that children need nine exercise books each term, however the government only provide three, leaving the school to meet the shortfall. This is virtually impossible in the very remote areas where no outside aid is given.
Besides providing capital costs we are working with TME to provide educational DVDs on topics such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, when to have a baby, safe water – all issues that have a devastating impact on African communities. Our orphan sponsorship program is supporting over ninety children in education and the feeding program sponsored by Cunninghams has improved both the overall attendance and performance at Mukuni basic school and Mukuni high school.
The Butterfly Tree aims to provide the same support in other villages such as Ngandu and Kamwi, where we are raising funds for classrooms and teachers’ houses. I also visited a remote school at Katapazi, some thirty miles through bush from the nearst town of Livingstone. The school is without electricity and bore hole; children have to carry water some distance from the community centre, both the school and clinic are sadly lacking in facilities.